Thanks so much for the follow up!!! I have dosed it heavily with insecticidal soap, but the infestation is so bad, I am not sure it is working, I will try again tomorrow. Where do you purchase a Neem Oil product? Is this the stuff that is supposed to keep them from laying their eggs and help prevent their return? I may try ambush...how toxic is that stuff? I have a dog, but I would prevent her from coming into the area... This may be a dumb question...once all the dead leaves are gone (which is most of them)...will they regenerate this season at all? We are in Zone 3, so we should be expecting our first overnight frost sometime in October.

Wowza, you guys rock. Thanks for the zippy replies. I've just finished reading up on the Leafcutter Bee--what a curious insect. I've never heard of a bee living like this. But yes, you're right--we definitely need to support the pollinators! So I will leave be the bees and they can have all of my creeper leaves that they want :) I am going to keep an eye out, too--I'd like to see these guys in action. Thanks again, Sherrin

Hi Mike If you really want virginia creeper, and want it to grow quickly, go with roots. A caution though - virginia creeper and will quickly take over if the soil and light are right. Down here in TN, it can grow so fast it engulfs trees. it will cover and kill small shrubs. Critters. We have chipmunks and mice who live among the underbrush. Many small birds will use it as cover too. I can't answer when to plant up there. I can tell you that it starts growing rather quickly down here, around April, after frost. plan carefully where you want to put it, as it spreads through its roots, and vines. Once established, you will have some work to keep it where it needs to be! good luck

Virginia creeper does not look like poison ivy ever, in my experience (5 leaf clusters), but I have had more than one yard maintenance person think even the full grown plant was. Really made me question their competence. Even young, poison ivy leaves look like poison ivy. If it is small, you can just yank it out of your pot. If the roots are well established, though, you may have to start over. I really don't know if any of the oil might linger on the surface of the soil, if not the new growth of chives (having discarded the growth present with the poison ivy) should be ok. I am lucky in that I am not sensitive to the plant since the birds plan it regularly in my yard. Good luck controlling the creeper. It is native here and really tried very hard to take over the whole yard--I would find that it had travelled under mulch and grass up to 30 feet to pop up in a new spot!! I had to eradicate it finally just to reduce the constant chasing after it--and that took the whole summer and lots of brush be gone (which also works on poison ivy)